US 12,473,906 B2
Electrochemical hydrogen compression system
Hayato Daimon, Wako (JP)
Assigned to Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo (JP)
Filed by HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Jan. 8, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/406,461.
Claims priority of application No. 2023-003442 (JP), filed on Jan. 13, 2023.
Prior Publication US 2024/0240628 A1, Jul. 18, 2024
Int. Cl. F04B 45/047 (2006.01); F17C 5/06 (2006.01)
CPC F04B 45/047 (2013.01) [F17C 5/06 (2013.01); F17C 2221/012 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electrochemical hydrogen compression system comprising:
a hydrogen compression stack provided with a unit cell including an electrolyte membrane, an anode, and a cathode;
an electrical power source device configured to supply an electrical current to the unit cell and cause a high pressure hydrogen gas to generate on a cathode side of the unit cell, the high pressure hydrogen gas having a pressure higher than that of a hydrogen gas supplied to an anode side of the unit cell;
a hydrogen supply source configured to supply the hydrogen gas to the hydrogen compression stack via a supply pathway;
a gas-liquid separator provided in a discharge pathway communicating with the cathode side of the unit cell and configured to separate water in the high pressure hydrogen gas;
a hydrogen return pathway configured to guide a dry high pressure hydrogen gas, which is the high pressure hydrogen gas from which the water is separated, to the supply pathway communicating with the anode side of the unit cell, from a downstream side of the gas-liquid separator in the discharge pathway;
a hydrogen return valve provided in the hydrogen return pathway;
a detector configured to detect an electrical value indicative of a voltage or a resistance of the hydrogen compression stack; and
a control device configured to control the hydrogen return valve and the electrical power source device;
wherein the control device comprises one or more processors configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in a memory,
by the computer executable instructions being executed by the one or more processors, the control device closes the hydrogen return valve in a case that the electrical value does not exceed a predetermined threshold value when the electrical current is of a predetermined value, and opens the hydrogen return valve in a case that the electrical value exceeds the threshold value when the electrical current is of the predetermined value, to supply the dry high pressure hydrogen gas to the hydrogen compression stack via the supply pathway.